This image, taken by Expedition 41 aboard the International Space Station, looks like the fine artwork of some extra-terrestrial, but it's actually decades old scarred earth and entrenchments of warfare along the Iraq/Iran border. »2/02/15 3:05am 2/02/15 3:05am

In the last several hundred years, human activity has shifted large quantities of the world's carbon from long-term storage (i.e. carbon bound up in rocks, fossil fuels, and forests) into forms of short-term storage such as croplands and pastures, which tend to store less carbon for shorter periods of time. »1/19/12 7:40am 1/19/12 7:40am

The September equinox occurred this morning at 5:05 am EDT, marking the official start of Fall for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere. Twice a year, during the latter halves of March and September, every person on Earth experiences the effects of an equinox in the form of a 12-hour day followed by a 12-hour night. »9/23/11 10:59am 9/23/11 10:59am

Earlier today, a giant dust storm swept over all of eastern Australia, the worst the area has seen in 70 years. The storm also brought hail and strong winds. And it's a menacing cloud even when seen from space. »9/23/09 4:00pm 9/23/09 4:00pm